$205 million to target Muslims… Email From info@mpowerchange.org

As Salaamu Alaykum, Heba—

Ramadan is typically a time of peace and good news. But every once in a while we’re reminded of the stark difficulties faced by the Muslim community in this day and age.

Yesterday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations released a special report1 with breathtaking news about the organized Islamophobia industry: in just a five year span, this hateful industry—which includes groups that spread hatred via the media, push anti-Muslim legislation, and hold armed demonstrations outside of mosques—has received more than $205 million to spend on slandering the name of Islam and members of the Muslim community.

Here are some more troubling facts about the state of the anti-Muslim “movement” in the U.S. today:

There are at least 33 documented, well-funded organizations whose primary purpose is to promote hatred of (and prejudice against) Islam and Muslims in the U.S.

There were 78 recorded incidents of attacks against mosques in 2015—an increase of 300% over the previous year.

“Muslim-free” businesses—the equivalent of “no coloreds allowed” businesses of the Jim Crow era—are becoming more and more common.

MPower Change’s unique role in combating Islamophobia is this: we’re the only digital-first, multi-issue advocacy group that’s specifically built to mobilize tens of thousands of Muslims and our allies at the drop of a dime to fight the most egregious instances of anti-Muslim racism.

We take on both the political and the cultural fights that protect the safety of the Muslim community and the image of Islam in the U.S. today.

MPower Change launched just six months ago—but in that time, we’ve already taken on several big campaigns.

We stood by Dr. Larycia Hawkins—the professor at a Christian college suspended for wearing a headscarf in solidarity with Muslim women. We orchestrated a large petition drive and have been in touch with Southwest Airlines about their apparent discrimination against Muslim passengers. And most recently, we joined with local leaders in Louisville to call for the Louisville airport to be renamed after the great Muhammad Ali—perhaps the best known Muslim of the entire 20th century.

Even as we run these campaigns, we’re ramping up for a massive voter registration and get-out-the-vote effort that we’ll kick off after Ramadan, led by some veteran Muslim community and political organizers who’ve worked on major local and presidential campaigns.